CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS &

TERRITIORIAL DEFINITION OF
NIGERIA

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL
SCIENCE AND PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION

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 DEFINITIONS OF NIGERIA
⚫ Most populous black race in the world and most
populous country on the African continent.
⚫ Estimated population of 222.2 million people (2023,
World Bank report). Other more recent sources may
say about 200 million Nigeria is located in West
Africa, between latitudes 40 / 140 degrees North and
longtitudes 30/40 degrees East.
⚫ Nigeria is bounded by the Republic of Niger and
Chad to the North , Benin to the West, Cameroon to
the East and the Atlantic coast to the South, with a
land area of about 925,000 square kilometers over
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356,700 sq. meters.
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⚫ Two main rivers (Niger and Benue), others are
Oron – Calabar, Imo, Sokoto – Rima, Kaduna,
Osun etc.
⚫ Nigeria’s temperature ranges from 12 degree C to
24 degree C in the South to 12 degree C to 37
degree C in the North.
⚫ Two outstanding seasons – Rainy and Dry seasons.
⚫ Natural resources (timber, rubber, yam, kernel,
kola nuts, palm oil, cocoa, vegetable, tomatoes,
potatoes, soya beans, carrots, onions, groundnuts,
cotton, wheat, millet, coffee); Mineral resources
(petroleum, coal, asbestos, limestone, and salt,
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marble, clay, iron, tin, uranium, gold), and
 ⚫ Nigeria has 36 states (1964 – 4, 1967 –
12, 1976 – 19, 1987 – 21, 1991 – 30, and
1996 – 36).
⚫ The states are further divided into 774
Local Government Areas.
⚫ Nigerian Civil War (also called Biafra
war) July 1967 – Jan. 1970 – most
expensive and bloodiest Nigerian conflict
ever (over 2 million officers & civilians,
especially women and children dead).
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 ⚫ Nigeria has a rich cultural mix; with over
250 ethnic groups within her territory
(Hausa-Fulani, Nupe, Tiv, Kanuri, e.t.c.
in the North, Yoruba in the southwest,
Igbo, Efik, Ibibio in the southeast, and
Ijaw in the southsouth).
⚫ Nigeria is a constitutionally secular state.
However, two major religions; Islam
(practiced in the North and part of the
southwest) and Christianity (practiced
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in other parts of the country) are
 Geo-political Zoning of Nigeria
S/N Geopolitical Zones States

1. North-Central Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Niger, Abuja (FCT)

2. North-East Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe

3. North-West Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Zamfara

4. South-East Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo

5. South-South Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross-Rriver, Delta, Edo, Rivers

6. South-West Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo

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 THE STATE
⚫ Two main schools of thought about the
state are the Marxist and Liberal
Schools.
⚫ The Marxist School perceive the state as
“an instrument by the ruling class for
dominating the other classes in the
society”.
⚫ The Liberal School perceive the state as
“an organization that transcends all
8 classes and interest, and exists for the
 Theories of the Origin of The State
⚫ Four major theories have been widely
debated as being the origin of the modern
state, namely:
1. The Divine Right of Kings Theory:
The assumption here is that The State
was created by God, the leaders in The
State are divinely appointed by and
accountable to God. This approach is
mainly historical, and a major biblical
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support of this theory is found in Rom.
2. Social Contract Theory: This approach
basically divides the world history into two
clear periods – the period before The State
was created (The State of Nature) and the
period after the creation of The State. The
major assumption here is that The State was
created as a result of an agreement entered
into by individuals who originally had no
form of government or control (individual
sovereignty).
3. Force Theory: Here, the basic assumption
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is that The State came about as a result of
the strong imposing their might on the weak
 4. Natural/Evolutionary Theory: This
approach assumes that The State evolved
from simple human relations, such as:
from family to such other higher
communities like villages, towns, and
finally resulting in the establishment of
the complex modern state. Hence, The
State is superior to individuals within it
and exists for the common good of all.
Aristotle can be regarded as a major
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proponent of this approach.
 The State Defined
⚫ ‘The State’ has no single definition.
However, an ideal definition of The State
should contain certain ingredients –
features of The State.
⚫ The State, therefore, may be defined as “a
politically organized body of people
occupying a definite geographical
territory, with an organized government,
free from external control, able to enforce
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and regulate the conduct of the people
 Distinctive Features of The State
1. Population
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty
5. Recognition by other States

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 GOVERNMENT
⚫ Is government an art or a science?
⚫ Government as an academic field, is
the study of how groups and
individuals interact with regards to
power, authority and rule. This study
could be scientific.
⚫ Government is referred to as an
institution or machinery or instrument
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for making and enforcing laws in a
 Systems of Government
1. Unitary System
2. Federal System
3. Confederal System
4. Military System

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 ⚫ Unitary System: This system of
government is organized under a single,
central control – all executive and
legislative power and authority is
centralized in a single government. This
system of government is mostly practiced
in State with homogenous population.
⚫ This system fosters unity, is easy to
operate, disallows duplication of offices,
easy writing and amendment of
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constitution. However, it does not allow
 ⚫ Federal System: In this system of
government, power is shared among the
federal government and the other units
of government. This division of power
is provided for in the constitution of
such State.
⚫ The federal system reduced the fear of
domination, provides for wider
participation in governance, and brings
government as close to the people as
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possible, although it is a very complex
 ⚫ Confederal System (Confederation):
This system of government comprises a
league of sovereign and independent
states, coming together to agree on a
common course of action or specific
international matters, as well as give up a
part of its sovereignty. They may go as far
as selecting delegates to implement the
treaty of alliance.
⚫ A member-state in a confederation can
decide to withdraw its membership at
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anytime
 Forms of Government
⚫ The two major forms of government are:
Cabinet/Parliamentary and Presidential forms
of government.
⚫ Cabinet/Parliamentary Form: In this form of
government, executive power of The State lies
in the hand of the parliament – the head of
parliament (Prime Minister) doubles as the
Head of Government. The Head of State
performs only ceremonial functions.
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⚫ The Parliament has supreme authority.
⚫ Presidential Form: This form of government
is based on the principle of separation of
power. The President, although the Chief
Executive, does not posses supreme authority,
the constitution does. The President or Chief
Executive has veto power and is allowed by
law to make use of it when the need arises.
⚫ In this form, there exists the central and
component units of government, and power is
divided such that they are inter-dependent
(each unit plays some role in the actions of
the others), but at the same time politically
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independent.
 Functions of government
⚫ Law making
⚫ Provisions of social amenities
⚫ Maintenance of law and order
⚫ Defense of the country from external aggression
⚫ Protection of lives and property
⚫ Provision of employment
⚫ Formulation and implementation of policies
⚫ Promotion of economic activities
⚫ External affairs and diplomatic functions
⚫ Administration of justice.
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 POLITICS
⚫ Although there is consensus on what constitutes politics,
there are varied ways in which political science scholars
have expressed this consensus.
⚫ Politics has been defined by scholars, using single
phrase that embrace variety of political activities:
a. Spiro defines politics as the process by which the
community of human beings deals with their problems
particularly with the obstacles they perceived to exist
between their present conditions and goals they wish to
pursue.
b. David Easton sees it as the process by which scarce
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resources are authoritatively allocated with the aim of
providing for human needs and desires.
 ⚫ Others scholars define Politics by listing questions
that should be asked and answered in
understanding politics:
a. Harold Lasswell defines politics as “who gets
what, when and how?”
b. W.A. Welsh defines politics by asking the
following questions: How do the artifacts of human
organization (formal group, political parties, nation
states, international organization) persist through
conditions of stress and change?; How do certain
individuals or groups achieve and maintain influence
and power?; What social, cultural, economic
conditions nurture different types of political order
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e.g. anarchy, democracy, authoritarianism,
totalitarianism?